WACO, Texas (KXXV/KRHD) — For the first time since 2020, the Baylor Bears are preparing for a game without Dave Aranda as their head coach. Baylor parted ways with Aranda Sunday — just one day after a 25-24 loss at Kansas dropped the Bears to 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 play.
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Now defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman takes over as interim head coach. With Baylor facing a short week before traveling to UCF Friday night, his first priority is bringing new energy to the program during this transitional period.
"I was going to try to provide a jolt of energy that I think this program desperately needs. I think the players need it. I think the staff needs it. I think the fan base needs it. I think the alumni need it," Klanderman said.
That change comes in the middle of a difficult stretch for the Bears. But Klanderman said after an emotional initial meeting on Sunday, the team was back on the practice field later that night — and that's where he started to see the response he was looking for.
"We got them back in the flow, back doing what they do, and I got to tell you, I thought the energy was fantastic. I thought the camaraderie was fantastic. I saw those guys celebrating with each other," Klanderman said.
For the players, the transition hasn't necessarily been easy. Many credit Aranda with bringing them to Waco and helping them develop both on and off the field. But with another game just days away, leaders on the team say they've had to process what happened while quickly turning their attention toward UCF.
"A lot of moving pieces, a lot of thoughts, a lot of things going on, but at the same time, it's also a short week. For us, we have to make sure that we're staying on our process and getting the correct preparation for UCF. Leaning on each other in these moments is key, and making sure that everyone is in this together," Michael Allen said.
Baylor won't have much time to settle into its new reality. The Bears travel to Orlando to face a UCF team coming off a major win over previously ranked #2 BYU. Klanderman said the Knights' offense is trending in the right direction, and with one less day to prepare, he isn't trying to completely reinvent Baylor football in his first week.
"On a short week, especially given the circumstances here, it's going to be a rules-and-principles kind of game. I don't know that we're going to be able to invent a lot of things and do a lot of fancy things that you might do on a normal week. Sometimes we're just going to have to uh, lay back and play some fall camp install things and see if we can get some stops and get some scores," Klanderman said.
Defensively, that means getting back to the basics after Kansas challenged the Bears in the running game. Defensive line coach Jacori Greer said UCF presents another difficult test, especially after watching how hard the Knights played in their upset win.
"When you watch that tape, you could see a sense of UCF wanting to win that game. That's awesome. That's contagious, but that's also the competitor in us. When you see that as a competitor, you want to rise to that occasion," Greer said.
But the biggest change Klanderman may be looking for is how the Bears play. After recent offensive struggles, Klanderman said he wants quarterback DJ Lagway and the rest of Baylor's offense to stop worrying about making the next mistake and start playing free again.
"I want to take the pressure off of you. I want to let you guys play free. I want to let you play relaxed. I want you to play with intensity and passion. I want that to be evident when we see and turn on the tape. I want that to be the staple of Baylor football," Klanderman said.
That also means trying to get Baylor's running game moving again. Klanderman said the Bears plan to simplify some of their assignments up front and stop expecting every run to become a home run.
"A gain of three is not a loss. A gain of three is fantastic. We would be celebrating a gain of three because that gain of three in the first quarter is going to be a gain of six in the third quarter and a gain of eight in the fourth quarter if we continue to wear on these people," Klanderman said.
Klanderman said he's already told team leaders that this isn't his team — it's theirs.
"One of the things he shared with us was, 'This is y'all's team.' This program is going to be here for a long time. It's going to outlast me, and it's going to outlast you guys. This is y'all's team, the 2026 Baylor Bears... What do you want this thing to finish out like?" Allen said.
For the Bears, Friday night is about more than responding to a loss. It's the first game of a new chapter for a program now trying to find out what it looks like under new leadership. And it comes against a UCF team entering the matchup with momentum of its own. But Klanderman said he isn't concerned with where the Knights are right now.
"I don't care what the state of UCF is. I care about what the state of the Baylor Bears is. Wherever they are on their spectrum, it doesn't make any difference to me. We're going to give them our best," Klanderman said.
The Klanderman era begins with a short week and a road trip to Orlando — and an immediate opportunity for Baylor to show whether a change at the top can provide the spark this program has been looking for. The Bears and Knights kick off Friday night at 6:30 on ESPN.
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